Shakespearean Sonnets
Sonnet 29
When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself, and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts my self almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
1. What changes the speaker’s mood in “Sonnet 29”?
2. Can you identify in any way with the speaker of this poem?
3. What do you think are the speaker’s strongest feelings in this sonnet? Cite lines
from the poem to support your answer.
Sonnet 116
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
1. What is the poet saying about TRUE love?
2. Do you think the speaker’s concept of love is realistic? Why or
why not?
Sonnet 130
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red, than her lips red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
I grant I never saw a goddess go,
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare,
As any she belied with false compare.
1. What is surprising about the description in “Sonnet
130”?
2. In “Sonnet 130,” what is the speaker’s attitude toward
the woman he loves?
3. What might have been Shakespeare’s purpose in writing
this sonnet?
4. Renaissance sonnets often focus on the great beauty of the
beloved. How important is physical beauty or
attractiveness in today’s society? Use examples.
Sonnet 18 pg. 391
Sonnet 30 pg. 393
Sonnet 73 pg. 396
For each sonnet:
What is the speaker’s attitude toward his LOVE?
How do you know? Find specific examples in the text.
What other issues (if any) does the speaker address in the
sonnet and how does it relate to his love?
Identify the change of direction or turn in the speaker’s
attitude and statements.
British Literature Midterm Exams
Grade:
Total of 200 points possible
100 points for Scantron
100 points for the essays
You will see:
Your percentage grade including added point curve